the eventual Aus attack of Pattinson, Bird, and a consistent Starc, with maybe Cummins chucked in on the quick wickets is pretty fapworthy

Oh yeah, a future 4 man pace attack with a fit Cummins and consistent Starc would be amazing. So much variation and potential match winners. As Tobias Funke would say, I'm afraid I prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run if you will.

Happened this morning I believe. The annual update, where they knock off a year of results. Think England lost the 2009 Ashes, tour to South Africa, and clean sweeps of Bangladesh from their rankings equation.

LOL, As much as it sucks this actually vindicates what I was trying to tell that knob FFLOG on the other forum ages ago. That there is an annual update where points get added or taken without any games being played......I thought it happened in August though. I was right damn it!!

Jeez, we're a mile off South Africa now.......was hoping some good results over the next 2 Ashes series would have us back in striking distance of them.

nah **** off ****, you tried to tell me once that a yearly update would happen and aus would drop from #1 in the odi rankings. reckon it was 2010 or so. kept trying to tell me we weren't the #1 odi side in the world now its actually happened - to the poms

Yeah and I was right......have you dropped off the ODI No1 spot?? Just took a little longer than anticipated is all.

Yeah, sucks to be us in this situation. The rankings predictor is having a meltdown on the ICC site so can't work out how much we'll have to beat you lot by just to get back to No 2. Reckon it will have to be better than 3-0 though.

I love the reasoning about Starc; if he goes and bowls well, he'll continue to be selected where he might have an off day and cost the team a Test. The horror! You can't pick a guy who might cost a Test! He's taken several bags against just about everyone in all forms of the game and the selectors (wrongly, tbh) keep rewarding that with selection, despite the mounting evidence proving he doesn't actually have the game to be a Test bowler. He'll take 300+ Test wickets proving what some good judges have known all along; that he's crap and should be back playing for NSW where he can work on his Test game. Once he's the finished article (i.e. a proven Shield Noffke) then, and only then, can he be selected in the Test side again.

I love the reasoning about Starc; if he goes and bowls well, he'll continue to be selected where he might have an off day and cost the team a Test. The horror! You can't pick a guy who might cost a Test! He's taken several bags against just about everyone in all forms of the game and the selectors (wrongly, tbh) keep rewarding that with selection, despite the mounting evidence proving he doesn't actually have the game to be a Test bowler. He'll take 300+ Test wickets proving what some good judges have known all along; that he's crap and should be back playing for NSW where he can work on his Test game. Once he's the finished article (i.e. a proven Shield Noffke) then, and only then, can he be selected in the Test side again.

This is an Ashes series. You can't keep picking a guy who has a good chance of costing the team a test, or at least contributing heavily too it. It's bloody ridiculous to have that mentality in such an important series. Not wanting to draw the comparisons here (because I agree they are pretty superficial), but it's the exact same reasoning that you're seemingly advocating which saw MJ keep getting selected. And how did that go? Surprise, surprise inconsistent bowlers produce moments of brilliance amongst steaming piles of horse****. If you have a raw, talented, but ultimately inconsistent bowler on you hands - like Starc is - it is fine to play them if you exercise prudence (e.g. only playing them in particularly favorable conditions, or when there are enough other good bowlers to cover for them), but it is just plain dumb to make them a stock member of the side and give them game after game. It's just waiting to come back and bite you in the ass.

Laugh at the suggestion Starc has "taken several bags against just about everyone in all forms of the game" too btw (were you being sarcastic?). I guess that includes his two 5-fors, one of which was basically all tail, and the other which was literally one of the worst 6-fors I've ever witnessed.

uhuh, well seeing as though you seemingly believe Starc has actually performed well in test cricket so far (something I'm pretty confident nobody would agree with), I can only assume you're totally deluded.